The present invention is directed to an electrical operating device for bicycles and, more particularly, to an electrical operating device for bicycles in which the braking lever is endowed with a rotational motion in a direction different from that of braking, and electric commands generated by this rotation control shifting, switch the indications on the speedometer, and the like.
The handlebar of a bicycle is equipped with shifting devices in addition to the braking levers for braking the bicycle. The applicant has already proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2-225191 a bicycle operating device in which such shifting devices are integrated with the braking lever body to allow braking and shifting to be accomplished by the same operating lever. In such a bicycle operating device, one end of the brake cable is connected to a rocking body. A rotary body to which one end of a derailleur wire is connected is supported on this rocking body, and the rotary body is provided with an operating lever. Operating the operating lever turns the rocking body and pulls the brake wire to achieve braking action. On the other hand, during shifting the operating lever is rotated around the axis of rotation orthogonal to the rocking axis, the rotary body is rotatably driven, and the derailleur wire is pulled to achieve a shifting action. Consequently, the turning of the rocking body by the operating lever contributes to braking, and, similarly, the rotation of the rotary body by the operating lever contributes to shifting.
In the combined brake and shifting device described above, the rotary body must be acted upon with the strong torque necessary to pull the derailleur wire, which is subjected to considerable tension. However, shifting devices which are constructed to provide increased levels of convenience and to possess multistep shifting capabilities as bicycles become more sporty should exert minimal tension on derailleur wires. Unfortunately, it is difficult to lower the tension in a derailleur wire below a certain level with a mechanical shifting mechanism, and certain limitations exist. To overcome such limitations, automated shifting control devices have been developed as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,177 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 8-113181. Such automatic shifting devices commonly comprise braking devices and shifting devices placed at a distance from each other, so quick operation is not possible.
Meanwhile, manual shifters are provided with displays for displaying the gear positions as shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 63-90490. Unfortunately, operability is inadequate because such displays are positioned at a distance from the braking devices.
Numerous proposals have also been made in recent years for mounting miniature computers and liquid-crystal displays on bicycles in order to display bicycle speed, distance traveled, time, rider""s pulse, and the like as shown in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 62-11871. All these types of information cannot be displayed simultaneously, so the required information is displayed by the switching of the display mode with a display mode switch. This display mode switch ordinarily is mounted on the computer, thus requiring the rider to remove his or her hands from the shifting or braking device to change display modes. According to an arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,892, a push-button switch for switching the display mode is installed on the bracket of the braking lever. However, because this button switch is located at a distance from the braking lever, the rider must operate the button by moving his or her hand from the operating position of the brake.
The present invention is directed to an electrical operating device for bicycles that is capable of performing both a braking and/or shifting operation as well as an electrical switching operation with a relatively simple structure that is easy to operate. The electrical switching operation could be, for example, the simple identification of the currently selected gear of a bicycle transmission, the selection of display modes in a bicycle computer, or the generation of the actual commands used by an electronically controlled shifting device to shift the bicycle transmission.
In one embodiment of the present invention, an electrical operating device for a bicycle includes a brake control device adapted to be mounted to a handlebar of the bicycle and a switching device integrated with the brake control device. The brake control device includes a first operating member that moves along a first path for controlling the operation of a brake, and the switching device outputs electrical signals in response to movement of the switching device along a second path different from the first path. If desired, the first operating member comprises a first operating lever that is structured for moving along the first path, wherein the first operating lever forms part of the switching device and is structured for moving along the second path.
In a more specific embodiment, the first operating lever is coupled to a brake rotary body that is mounted to the brake control device for rotation around a first axis, wherein rotation of the brake rotary body around the first axis controls the operation of the brake. The first operating lever is also mounted to the brake rotary body for movement along the second path. The switching device may include a switching mechanism mounted to the brake rotary body for rotation around a second axis in response to movement of the first operating lever along the second path; a first first side electrical contact coupled to one of the brake rotary body and the switching mechanism; a first second side electrical contact coupled to the other one of the brake rotary body and the switching mechanism for selectively contacting the first first side electrical contact in response to rotation of the switching mechanism around the second axis; and a second second side electrical contact coupled to the other one of the brake rotary body and the switching mechanism for selectively contacting the first first side electrical contact in response to rotation of the switching mechanism around the second axis.
The switching mechanism may comprise single or multiple switching rotary bodies that are controlled by the first operating lever either directly or through one-way clutches. If desired, the single or multiple switching rotary bodies may also be controlled by a second operating member such as a second operating lever either directly or through one-way clutches. To provide distinct electrical signals that may be used to identify the currently selected gear of the bicycle transmission, the first and second second side electrical contacts may be formed as a resistive path so that distinct resistance values are output depending upon which of the second side electrical contacts are contacted by the first side electrical contact.